Commercial competition forces capital not to shorten the transport circulation of heavy goods, but to extend it

[tahasozgen]

Hi There;
There is a sentence that I cannot understand. Could you please help me to understand it? The passage is about the relationship between transport and capitalism.

Since the "transport costs" in the traveler trade period constituted only a very small part of the commercial profit, there was no distinction between these two. Ships, carriages, sacks were cheap, and their value was amortized at once. But when the means of transportation showed a tremendous development in our age, the situation has changed. Railways, ships, and aircraft require great costs and these costs are amortized throughout a long circuit. The transport costs become fixed expenses included in the prices of goods without depending on a certain stage of the industrial circuit. This forces commercial capital to look for cheaper vehicles for non-decayed goods.

In 1933, the cereal's transportation fee was 5.50 F per kilometer-ton by sea, while it was 126 F by road. The tone of coal was 3.5 F and 107 F per kilometer, respectively. The transportation cost of oil ranged from 4F and 210 F.

Thus, commercial competition forces capital not to shorten the transport circulation of heavy goods, but to extend it.

circulation: Movement of passage through a system of vessels, as of water through pipes; flow

What is the "transport circulation of heavy goods" in this context? What does the sentence "Thus, commercial competition forces capital not to shorten the transport circulation of heavy goods, but to extend it." means?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jutfrank]

It's talking about the trade routes. Sea routes, for example, are longer but cheaper than road routes.